I need Ideas and/or Recipes!!!~~Winner is cintinative

[cybilx10]

My sister is going down for back surgery next week and has 3 little ones running around so her husband is really not going to have an idea of what he is supposed to do. So I wanted to this weekend get some meals ready that I can throw in the freezer for him and all he has to do is unfreeze and pop in the oven, but for somer reason my brain just isnt functioning.

So for this RAOK, send me your recipes and ideas of what will be teh best for 3 small kids and a husband who may or may not really know how to cook.

I will pull a winner Sunday afternoon!!~~ Changing to winner being pulled on Monday Night. Forgot I have to go to a work function here in a bit and still havent had a chance to look over them all.

[OneHotMomma]

Ok, how old are the children and would he be able to do crockpot recipes where all you have to do is add ingredients and turn it on?

[blossomed]

Oh I had to help a family for my job in a very similar situation.

Here is what I did:
1. Write out the menu for the week, sometimes the hardest part (as you can see) is deciding what to make.
2. Go for simple!
here are a few of the menu's that I used: (I had to email to the mother every Friday to have her approve)
Monday – lasagna
Tuesdday – breakfast foods
Wednesday – a roast in the crockpot
Thursday- chicken nuggets, rice and can veggie
Friday-pizza
Monday - Grill Cheese and Tomato
Wednesday - chili
Thursday - rot chicken, mac and cheese and corn.
Friday - subs

I know only a few of these are make ahead, so how about chicken parmigian? or any campbell's casserole?

hmm now I am hungry!

[rachellepeters]

I know this isnt much help but if you do a medium size roast (since the kids are small) --- use half of the roast to shred the meat and make BBQ sandwiches...so you get 2 different meals out of the roast??? Kids might be ok with eating roast one day, but not for leftovers...this is a way to trick them into not knowing one meal of it is basically roast ;)

[jenrose]

Tater tot caserol.
Lasagna
Enchiladas (may not be best for really young kidos)
Manwich caserol (grands buiscuits in dish as crust topped with ground beef/manwich mixture then when rolls are done add cheese to top and put back in until melted)

Thats what immediately comes to mind.

[CW&M Mom]

Lasagna
taco soup
chili
tortilla soup
chicken noodle soup (may want to wait to put noodles in till after)
enchilada's
funeral potatoes
Even just browned taco meat or sloppy joe meat can be helpful.

[greenfrog57]

My kiddos love spaghetti and meatballs -- I precooked my meatballs and freeze them individually-- serve with jarred sauce. He can cook pasta, right?

Also, burgers are easy to cook if you buy patties and french fries

Sloppy joes freeze easy.

Italian sausages are easy to cook.

Chicken soup for your sister.

I also freeze shredded chicken for tacos or soups.

[greenfrog57]

You might want to consider precooking breakfast items and freezing those as well. On the weekends, I cook pancakes, waffles (individually freeze on cookie sheets), muffins, cinnamon rolls, or french toast sticks. It makes it so easy in the mornings to just pull out what the kids want and warm in microwave.

[pokey]

I always freeze these foods for meals to serve when I am in a hurry. My kids liked all these foods.

Chili,
Meatloaf,
Stuffed green Peppers,
Lasagna,
Vegetable Soup,
Chicken Noodle Cassarole
Shredded beef ( or pork) for sandwiches
.
I just heat them in the microwave and serve.

Good Luck to your sister. It is nice of you to do this to help her family.

[bugface711]

Lasagna was also my first thought. Its clearly a popular one. easy to freeze & cook.

My 2nd idea was the one greenfrog said. pre made meatballs have made dinner for my hubby very easy many times. I also pre-make meatballs and bake them. Flash freeze on a tray then bag them up & keep in freezer. Send him some boxed pasta & sauce, instant easy meal. He can also make meatball subs.

precooked breaded boneless skinless chicken flash frozen also makes quick dinner. sliced over salads for one option, over pasta & sauce for quick chicken parm, on a sandwich roll with a side can also be dinner.

Chicken pot pie can be fully made, crust and all then frozen.

You can make up a stir fry for him to just reheat and eat based on what they like for day 1 or 2.